Air-lift filtering-pump.



0. E. BIEL. AIR LIFT PILTERING PUMP APPLIGATION FILED 0OT.16, 1911.

Patented J an. 14, 1918.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60., WASHINGTON, n. c.

CONRAD E. BIEL, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

AIR-LIFT IEILTERING-PUMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14,1913.

Application filed October 16, 1911. Serial No. 654,956.

1 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CONRAD E. BIEL, a

citizen of the United States, residing in theand use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in air lift pumps of the character more especially adapted to be employed in sections which are not supplied with ordinary pressure systems. In other words, my improved device is more especially intended for use in sections where the water supply is obtained from wells or cisterns, and consists in locating a sort of tank within the water of a well, the said tank having an inwardlyopening check valve at the bottom and an out-let pipe projecting into the tank and terminating near the bottom of the pipe passing through the tank at the upper extremity of the latter and communicating with a pipe which leads into the house or other building to be supplied with water.

As illustrated in the drawing, the outlet pipe terminates in the house in a downwardly-curved extremity, arranged to discharge water into a sink. At the upper extremity of the outlet pipe, connected with the tank, as aforesaid, is located an upwardly-opening check valve, which opens to allow the water to pass upwardly through the pipe, but, when the pressure which forces the water out of the tank ceases to act, the weight of the water above the lastnamed check valve closes the latter and thus maintains the pipe above the check valve in a water filled condition, or primed, so that the water begins to flow immediately that the pumping operation is commenced,

The water is raised from the tank located in the well through the instrumentality of an air pump, which is located in the house, or other locality to be supplied with Water, and preferably adjacent the sink, where the water supply pipe terminates. By operating this pump, air is forced downwardly into the top of the tank within the well and places the water within the tank under such pressure that it is forced upwardly through the water pipe and discharged into the sink, as heretofore explained.

The tank should be submerged within the water of the well, and should be of such volume as to supply the desired amount of water to be taken from the well at any one time, since the pumping operation must be intermittent. In other words, during the operation of forcing water out of the tank by pumping air into the latter, the check valve in the bottom ofthe tank is closed and no water can enter the tank until the pumping operation ceases. Hence, the volume of water that can be removed from the well at any one time by a continuous pumping operation is limited to the depth of water above the lower extremity of the outlet pipe, the said extremity being located near the bottom of the tank, as heretofore explained.

The pumping operation should not be continued long enough to unseal the lower extremity of the pipe, since, in this event, the air, instead of water, would escape through the water pipe. Hence, the air pumping operation should cease before the water within the tank shall have been reduced sufficiently to expose the open extremity of the pipe within the tank.

An important feature of the invention consists in the fact that the intake portion of the tank is surrounded by filtering material arranged in suitable layers, whereby the water which enters the tank is thoroughly filtered. This filtering material is arranged in a pan surrounding the lower portion of the body of the tank and extending below the latter, a chamber being left immediately below the bottom of the tank into which the water flows freely from the filtering material, the vertical walls of the said chamber being perforated to allow the water to enter freely.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing: Figure 1 is a vertical section, taken through a tank of the construction employed in connection with my present invention, the said tank being shown in place within a well and in position for use. This is also a section, taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a section, taken partly on the lines 22, 83 and 44, respectively, of Fig. 1. The portion of the view taken on the line 2 2 is the greater distance between the two radial lines 22 of this figure; the portion of the view taken on the line 33 is the lesser distance between the radial lines 38; while the portion of the view taken on the line 44 is the lesser distance between the radial lines 4-4. It will be observed that in this brief description, of Fig. 2, the same radial lines are designated by different reference characters for convenience of description. Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a sink, the pump and the pipes outside of the well employed in connection with this invention. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail View of the upper part of the tank where the out-let pipe is located, the parts being shown in section and on a larger scale. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view of one of the suspension rods showing the turnbuckle connection between its two members.

The same reference characters indicate I the same-parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a well containing a volume of water 6, in which is submerged a tank 7to the lower portion of which is applied a pan 8, having a cylindrical wall 9, spaced from the outer surface of the wall of the tank, by means of brackets 10, which are secured to the adjacent wall of the pan. This pan extends below the bottom of the tank and is provided with a cylindrical perforated plate 12, extending above the bottom 13 of the pan and forming achamber 14 located directly beneath the bottom of the tank. This cylindrical member, as illustrated in the drawing, is slightly smaller in diameter than the diameter of the tank, and is entirely surrounded by a layer 15 of filtering material, preferably composed of relatively coarse gravel, this layer of filtering material extending from the bottom of the tank downwardly to the bottom of the pan. Above the layer 15 is located another layer 16 of filtering material, preferably composed of sand, the same being located between the wall of the tank and the wall of the pan. Above this layer of sand and also located between the tank and the pan is a layer 17, preferably composed of charcoal, while above the layer of charcoal is a second layer of gravel, somewhat finer than the layer 15 of filtering material. This pan is connected with the upper portion of the tank by means of suspension rods 18, whose lower extremities, as illustrated in the drawing, terminate in eyes passed through a plate 19 secured to the top of the pan, extending therearound circumferentially and projecting sufiiciently above the top of the pan to expose perforations formed in the plate with which the eyes at the lower extremities of the rods 18 are connected. The upper extremities of these rods also terminate in eyes which are connected with a plate 20 surrounding the top of the tank and offset therefrom to permit the suspension rods to be connected therewith. In the bottom of the tank is formed an inlet opening 21 which is adapted to be closed by an inwardly-opening flap check valve 22. Below the inlet opening 21 of the tank and surrounding the same is located a collar 23, which is flared outwardly from the opening. To the lower extremity of this collar is secured a screen 24, composed of suitable mesh material, thus preventing any coarse material that might possibly escape from the filter from passing upwardly into the tank.

Protruding into the tank through a central opening formed in the top thereof is an outlet pipe 25, whose lower extremity is open and located near the bottom of the tank, preferably as close as practicable without interfering with the free passage of water from the tank into the pipe. Also, this pipe should not extend sufliciently near to the bottom of the tank to interfere with the opening of the flap check valve 22, which, assuming that the inlet opening in the bottom of the tank is located in the center, would be directly beneath the lower extremity of the outlet pipe. The upper extremity of this pipe protrudes slightly above the top of the tank, and is surrounded by a collar 26, which is secured to the top of the tank, the upper extremity of the pipe being screwed into the collar. The upper extremity of the pipe is normally closed by a check valve 27 having a depending stem 28 passing through the central part of a spider 29, which is inserted into the top of the pipe and forms a guide for the valve stem. Surrounding the upper extremity of the outlet pipe, above the tank and threaded to the collar 26, is a reducing sleeve 30, which terminates in a neck 31 into which is threaded the lower member of the conduit 32. This conduit, considered in its entirety, passes into the house 33 and terminates in a vertically-disposed member 34 having a curved upper extremity 35 adapted to discharge into a sink 36, suitably mounted within the building.

In order to drain the outlet pipe 32, where it extends above the ground, for the purpose of preventing the water therein from freezing during cold weather, this pipe is equipped with a drain valve 37, located at an elbow 38 forming a part of the said pipe.

Mounted adjacent the sink 36 is an air pump 39, whose piston stem 40 is reciprocated by operating a handle 41 pivotally connected, "as shown at 42, with a yoke 43 whose opposite extremity is pivotally connected with the pump cylinder, as shown at 44. This handle 41 has a member 45 suitably connected with the piston rod 41 of the pump, whereby the piston is reciprocated for the purpose of forcing air downwardly through a pipe 46 into the upper part of the tank 7, above the water thereof.

From the foregoing description, the use and operation of my improved air lift filtering pump will be readily understood. Assuming that the tank is submerged in the water of the well, and that the water has entered the same, practically filling it, if desired to pump water from the well, the air pump is operated by moving the handle 41 back and forth, whereby air is forced downwardly into the tank above the water. This pressure, acting on the water, forces it upwardly through the pipe 25 and thence out of the tank through the pipe 32, whence it is discharged into the sink 36, or other suitable receptacle. During the pumping operation, the check valve 22 is closed, and the water may be continuously pumped until it reaches any desired low level, so long as the lower extremity of the outlet pipe is not unsealed. Ordinarily, however, the tank will be ofsuch size that, for ordinary house use, there will be no necessity for removing the entire contents of the tank at one pumping operation. However, if this should be done, it is only necessary to wait until the water again fills the tank through the opening in the bottom of the latter, after which the operation may be continued.

It will be understoodthat the check valve 22 opens easily and will allow the water to enter the tank and fill the latter when the air pressure Within the tank is not sufficient to keep this valve closed.

Attention is called to the fact that, by reason of the connection between the filter pan and the tank, heretofore described, it becomes practicableto readily detach the filter pan and renew the filter material or clean the same. This is an important feature, as compared with structures where filters not readily removable are employed.

To facilitate the ready removal of the filter from the tank, the rods 18 are each composed of two members which are connected by a turnbuckle 4, one of the rod members being threaded into the turnbuckle, as shown at 3, while the other is swiveled therein, as shown at 2. By virtue of these turnbuckles, the said rods may be made perfectly taut, and, when it is desired to remove the filter, it is only necessary to rotate the turnbuckle sufiiciently to detach it from the threaded extremity 3 of each rod.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is The combination with a cylindrical tank having an exit opening at the top and an inlet opening at the bottom, of a cylindrical pan open only at the top applied exteriorly to the lower portion of the tank, connections including turnbuckles, each of said connections being attached at one end to the upper edge of the pan and at the other end to said tank, an annular perforated member supported upon the bottom of said pan and placed concentrically with respect to the opening in the bottom of said tank, and filtering material placed exteriorly of said annular member and between the pan and tank.

In testimony whereof I affix my signa- WVitnesses:

A. J. OBRIEN, A. EBERT OBRIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

